Double-Murder Defendant claims Insanity Defense

Trial is underway on the Michael Spiegel case. Spiegel is charged with killing his ex-wife and her new fiance a couple days before their wedding. Since he’s 72 years old, Spiegel is probably going to be sentenced to the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted of any charges related to the killing. As Mr. Carpenter points out in the NDN article, it is extremely hard to convince a jury that someone should escape culpability with an insanity defense: they must have such a great mental impairment that they do not know what they are doing or cannot tell right from wrong. The James Holmes defense attempted this argument, unsuccessfully. The state is arguing that his pre-planning, google searches, and so forth demonstrate comprehension and understanding of the wrongfulness of his crime.